John Kerr, a longtime tournament angler from Ramona, California, is no stranger to winning. He and his partner Mike Long are back to back Won Bass Anglers of the Year. However, Kerr has never entered what he calls a "major" professional event. Entering the U.S. OPEN John Kerr decided to just "go for it." I wasn't going up there to win," said Kerr." You always dream of winning, but I just wanted to have a strong showing. I figured if I could catch 7 pounds a day I'd cash a check. It was really just a measuring stick to see if I could compete with those guys, because they're all so good. That's all I wanted, the confidence to keep doing it afterward."

Kerr gained that confidence, and then some. The Mead bite was tough. Catching a limit was no guarantee, and anglers who did well were able to find a small pattern, or brief window of opportunity, and then fully exploit it. Kerr ran miles and miles of bank, both in practice and in the tournament. He made a commitment to top water and stuck with it, even in lean times.

"I didn't get any fish to eat my bait until 11:00 in the morning," said Kerr." That was the pattern, when everyone was putting down their topwaters, I was just getting started. After day 1, I was in third, and just went back out the second day and covered five or eight miles of shoreline. Everyone thought I had this secret bait or a honeyhole, but there was no honeyhole whatsoever." Kerr was very determined to credit his amateur partners with helping seal the win. All my AAAs were great," said Kerr and they all helped. Dean Yamagata, Brian Thomas, and Dennis Brown--- I couldn't have done it without them. They didn't miss a beat."

When asked what it's like to win the first major tournament he's ever fished, Kerr replied, "the win still hasn't sunk in. There's little reminders, like when I walk in the living room and see the trophy and think, 'Oh yeah, I just won the U.S. OPEN! It's incredible."

Kerr's sponsors include: Hastings Rod Manufacturing “GRAPHITE-USA / UNITED RODS", Strike Pro Lures, Maxima Line, SR. Plastics, Rago Generic Baits and Anglers Marine.